PORTLAND, Ore.  Saturday marks the shortest day of the year  the pinnacle of dread for people who have seasonal depression.

But brightness is now on tap at one Portland bar. The booths at Lightbar include light-therapy lamps that can be dialed up to 10,000 lux, the recommended dosage for those with seasonal affective disorder.

The condition known as SAD is more common in the perpetually cloudy Pacific Northwest  as well as in other northern locales  because its triggered by long winter evenings that have people waking up in the dark.

Contrary to popular belief in Portland and Seattle, the rain has nothing to do with it.

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A Seattle cafe owner started offering light therapy this fall after learning of Lightbar.